Dangerous Indenture - A Colonial Mystery
By Kelli A. Wilkins
Hi
everyone,
Today I’m sharing a look at the making of
my Medallion Press romance, Dangerous Indenture. I’ll discuss how
the book came about, the research involved, and how I created these unique
characters.
As most readers know, I write romances in
nearly every genre: contemporary, historical, fantasy, gay, and paranormal.
When I write historical romances I never know where (or when) my story will
take me. The Viking’s Witch is set in Scotland in 803, Lies,
Love & Redemption is a western set in 1877 Nebraska, and Dangerous
Indenture is a spicy
historical/mystery set in Pennsylvania Colony in the early 1700s.
Here’s the summary:
Dangerous
Indenture
Eager to escape her past in Ireland,
Shauna Farrow signs on to become an indentured servant to Joshua Stewart, a
wealthy man in Pennsylvania Colony.
But a life of servitude quickly turns to
drudgery, and her hopes for starting over and creating a better life for
herself are waning—until she meets her master’s roguish son, Ashton.
Shauna fights her growing attraction to
Ashton, torn between propriety and acting on her emotions. But amidst their
flirting, something dark stirs. Shauna soon discovers why no other servants
will work for the strange Stewart family.
Stewart House has an unsavory reputation:
a previous servant died there under mysterious circumstances. When another
servant goes missing in the middle of the night, Shauna is convinced that a
member of the family is responsible.
When Shauna’s investigation leads her too
close to the truth, it’s up to Ashton to save her before time runs out.
***
So, how did the novel come about? Dangerous Indenture is one of those
books that just jumped into my head. (Yes, every so often that happens to
writers.) One day, I overheard the name Shawna Farrell, but I thought I’d heard
Shauna Farrow. The name stuck with me and I wrote it down.
A few minutes later, I knew all about her:
she was an Irish indentured servant who came to Pennsylvania Colony and worked
at a house where a previous servant was murdered. Once I knew that, I started
outlining the book.
Before I wrote a word, I did a lot of
research. I was starting from a good place with the book—I knew where I wanted
to set the story and in approximately what timeframe it should take place.
From there, I spent time in the library
going through history books, reading up on Colonial times (What life was like, what
people wore, ate, etc.) and indentured servants (Where did they come from? Why
did they leave their home country?).
As I wrote, I incorporated my research as
background information. This gives the book a rich historical feel without
going overboard with details that slow down a scene or are of no interest to
readers.
When I’m writing historical romances, I
include details and descriptions that are integral to the story. I don’t bog
down the plot with a step-by-step procedure for churning butter or how to saddle
a horse, and I don’t go into an endless description of how to unfasten a corset
(unless it’s befuddling a hero who is eager to remove it!)
Just because historical romances are set
in time periods before cars, the Internet, and cell phones, that doesn’t (or shouldn’t) make them boring. My
historicals include plenty of action, adventure, intrigue, danger, comedy, and
sensual love scenes.
When I wrote Dangerous Indenture, I especially enjoyed creating the characters
and setting the stage for the drama that’s about to unfold. Right from the
start, we’re told that Stewart House is haunted, and then we (and Shauna) meet
the master of the house, Joshua Stewart, and his strange family.
Our hero, Ashton Bailey, is flawed and has
a lot of problems to overcome. For starters, he’s known as the black sheep of
the family and has been sent home in disgrace. He has a reputation as a
drunkard and a womanizer, and tends to get himself into troubling situations.
By giving Ashton all this “baggage” I made him vulnerable and provided him with
lofty goals to reach.
Shauna has come to the Colonies to start
over and make a new life for herself. The last thing she wants is to fall in
love with anyone—and then she meets Ashton. Shauna is headstrong and
independent, and not your typical heroine. She’s brash and opinionated and
falls in love with Ashton despite all of his socially unacceptable flaws. Ashton
gives her the strength and encouragement she needs to keep going when things
look bleak, and he stands up for her at a critical plot point in the story.
When I developed the secondary characters,
I made sure to give them all interesting backstories and unusual quirks. Joshua
comes off as a mean bear of a man, Minerva just might be crazy (and a
murderer), Colin is… a villain in many senses of the word, and Lila thought she
had everything going for her—for a while. Not everyone in Stewart House is as
they seem, however, and this adds another level of mystery and intrigue to the
book.
I love the characters and the fact that Dangerous Indenture is a romance blended
with mystery. I had never written a romance set in Colonial times before, and combining
all these elements into this Gothic-type story was a lot of fun.
I hope you’ll check it out.
Here’s an excerpt from Dangerous Indenture:
Ashton rolled over and winced. His head ached as if a spike had been driven into his skull. He blinked a few times. Where the hell was he? The air smelled stale. The scent of sweat combined with rum and perfume made his stomach lurch. He looked at the woman sleeping next to him. He was naked in a bed but where? He couldn’t tell one place from another anymore.
Hazy memories from the previous night flashed back to him. He had gotten into a fight and lost the last of his money in a card game. This came on the heels of last week’s fight that had landed him three nights in jail. His father had used his influence to spare him a public flogging for drunken and indecent behavior, but then two days later, he had caused the incident at Mr. Campbell’s house.
He studied the fair-haired girl half covered with a green quilt. In the dim morning light, she appeared ordinary and featureless. Why had he been attracted to her? Perhaps it was the wanton way she’d teased him with her tongue each time she kissed him or the sinful promises she had whispered in his ear. In any case, it didn’t take long for her dress to come off once they were upstairs.
He recalled stripping out of his breeches, then the soft feel of her hands stroking him until he was hard. She had pushed him onto the bed and straddled his hips, taking charge as he had told her to. While her hot body had pumped up and down on his prick, his troubles had faded away. He had let himself be ridden, not caring about anything except his building orgasm.
What was her name? He searched his fuzzy memory. Jane? Joan? It didn’t matter. He had nothing to pay her with.
Now what? He closed his
eyes. The letter. Father’s scathing letter had arrived yesterday, ordering him
to return to Stewart House at once, before he “disgraced the family’s
reputation further.” He had no choice but to go back to the Stewart madhouse
for a while. He would endure the torment for a month or two or perhaps the
entire summer if he could stand it. Then what? Repeat the pattern again?
He licked his dry lips
and rubbed his eyes. Stewart House held too many memories. It always reminded
him of his mother. She was in his thoughts quite often these days. She would
have wanted him to be respectable and not a drunken whoremonger. He groaned. At
least she was spared seeing what a failure her only child had become.
Last night, he’d been
tempted to go down to the docks and sign on to a ship leaving for England or
Ireland. In his drunken state, he had reasoned that if he left the colonies, he
could start over and begin a new life.
But all the liquor in
Boston couldn’t help him take such a bold step. Eventually, he’d admitted the
truth to himself. It was easier to crawl into a bottle and ignore the world
than to face reality. Besides, what did he have to look forward to?
Ashton sat up and
grimaced as a sharp pain shot through his head. Who cared about the future?
Right now, he needed food and headache powder. Everything else could wait. He
pulled his rumpled breeches from a pile of clothing on the floor and dressed
quickly.
As he buttoned his vest,
he felt something hard tucked into an inside pocket. A coin! He fished it out
and ran his thumb over the edge. It was enough to buy a morning meal.
He glanced at the
still-sleeping girl and felt a tug at his heart. Lord knew she deserved it for
what she put herself through every night. He placed the coin on the edge of the
dresser and slipped from the room, ignoring the rumbling in his stomach...
***
Order
your copy of Dangerous Indenture here:
I hope you enjoyed this inside look at the
making of Dangerous
Indenture. I welcome
comments and questions from readers. Be sure to follow my blog for the latest
updates and visit me on social media!
All through
November I'll be highlighting my Medallion Press historical romances on my blog
and Facebook pages. These full-length romance novels are available on several
ebook platforms and all are just $2.99. If you haven’t read any of them, why
not give them a try?
And… FREE
READS from all of my romances (all genres) are now on my Manic Readers page: http://www.manicreaders.com/KelliAWilkins/
Happy Reading,
Kelli
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kelli A. Wilkins
is an award-winning author who has published more than 100 short stories, 19
romance novels, and 5 non-fiction books. Her romances span many genres and heat
levels.
Her
paranormal-comedy, Beauty & the Bigfoot, was published in September 2017.
Kelli released Trust
with Hearts, a contemporary romance, in July 2017. Her third gay
romance, Four Days with Jack, was released in June 2017. Kelli’s trilogy
of erotic romance novellas, Midsummer Night’s Delights, Midwinter
Night’s Delights, and Ultimate Night’s Delights was
published in spring 2017.
Loving a Wild
Stranger
was published in January 2017. This historical/pioneer romance is set in the
wilds of the Michigan Territory and blends tender romance with adventure.
Kelli's third
Medallion Press romance, Lies, Love & Redemption was
released in September 2016. This spicy historical western is set on the
Nebraska prairie in 1877.
Her writing book, You
Can Write—Really! A Beginner’s Guide to Writing Fiction is a fun and
informative guide filled with writing exercises and helpful tips all authors
can use.
Kelli posts on her
Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKelliWilkins and Twitter: www.Twitter.com/KWilkinsauthor.
Visit her website,
www.KelliWilkins.com to learn more
about all of her writings, read book excerpts, reviews, and more. Readers can
sign up for her newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/HVQqb.
Here are a few links to find Kelli &
her writings on the web…
Facebook
Contemporary Romances: https://www.facebook.com/Contemporary-Romances-by-Kelli-A-Wilkins-1965702023664339/
Facebook
Historical Romances: https://www.facebook.com/Historical-Romances-by-Kelli-A-Wilkins-1703805359922371/
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